One of the many fantastic things about cooperatives is that we as Owners get to decide what our community-owned business values.

Last year, the Chicago Market Board of Directors undertook a process to create a value statement to reflect the Co-op’s ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The result is a recently approved addition to our list of Values: Justice.

We're excited to announce we've found a new, permanent home for the Uptown Farmers Market!

The last stage of waterproofing our basement is complete!

Our previous blog post showed work in progress and here are photos of the last steps.

[Before and after!]

We're in the middle of more basement construction work and want to share it with you!

Our lease with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) includes the basement portion of our location at Wilson and Broadway. The Co-op's store design plans call for transforming that lower level into storage space, restrooms, offices, and conference rooms (click here for pdf of the basement plan).

Being ready for this basement use means we need a drain tile system in place along the inside perimeter of the basement that routes water to sump basins where pumps will move it out to the city's sewer system. 

[Team U.S. Waterproofing was out to do the work.]

This post originally ran in Macaroni Kid.

Labor Day typically marks the unofficial "end" of summer. But farmers markets are still going strong! Many of them—including the Uptown Farmers Market—run through the end of October with farmers and vendors bringing loads of fabulous fall produce and other locally prepared products directly to us as consumers.

While farmers markets present excellent opportunities to introduce kids to food values, they are also hubs for community connections between neighbors, businesses, nonprofits, and even musicians. As we all work to reestablish social gatherings while staying safe, bringing families together at farmers markets is a great way to showcase the diversity and richness of our communities.

This post originally ran in Macaroni Kid.

Chances are you’ve shopped at a farmers market and maybe even have a regular one in your neighborhood that you visit every week. In addition to offering access to fresh produce and locally prepared foods, farmers markets are also great opportunities to help kids learn about food and food values.

The Uptown Farmers Market wouldn’t be possible without our awesome sponsors. And we're proud to tell you a little bit more about Becovic. Located in Uptown, Becovic is sponsoring the Uptown Farmers Market because they believe it is a way for the community to gather while sustaining our local makers and growers and supporting our Co-op.

As we continue to celebrate Chicago Market’s exciting funding news, we have another key milestone to share in the development of our store—the first on-site physical work to prepare the inside of our building for construction!

Our lease with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) includes the basement portion of our location at Wilson and Broadway. The Co-op's store design plans call for transforming that lower level into storage space, restrooms, offices, and conference rooms (click here for pdf of the basement plan).

[Photo of a worker wearing an air filtration mask giving a thumbs up sign]

Building a co-op like ours that plans for an exceptional amount of local food means getting to know our farmers!

Hello, cooperators!

In my role as your General Manager, I am working to help build the community vision for a grocery store that delivers amazing products in a manner that elevates human dignity across our supply chain. While we are very committed to local agriculture and small businesses, Chicago Market will also be networked with a global food system. Crops such as coffee, tea, bananas, avocados, spices, vanilla, cacao, and more will be featured in our business (and are clearly important to many of our Owners!). When we engage supply chains further afield, our Purchasing Values demand that, beyond the high-quality standards we prize, we are supporting supply from environmentally and socially responsible sources.

(Hint: Dan's the one rocking the stylish hat!)